Sonic the Hedgehog: Dusk
by KrissyKat91
Summary: A blast from Sonic's past comes to Station Square, and Sonic's never been happier. Then an attack by Dr. Eggman sets off a chain of events no one could have anticipated.
1. Goodbye Mobius

KrissyKat91: Look out, world! I'm on a roll! Of course, it helps that the stories I'm uploading first are the few I've actually finished. And before I forget, I don't own Sonic and co.

This is a Sonic X AU with some SatAM mixed in. It starts right before Angel Island is teleported to Earth, and separates from the show from there. I couldn't figure out how to work Rouge and Eggman's talking robots into this, so just pretend they don't exist.

Just to make things a little clearer, here's a list of how old the characters are in this corner of my personal multiverse: Sonic - 20; Sally - 20; Knuckles - 21; Amy - 17; Tails - 13; Chris - 13; Cream - 11; Cheese - I have no freaking clue. Do chao even age?

Ch. 1: Goodbye Mobius

The rain beat down on her, soaking her coffee brown hair and making her vest and shorts stick to her uncomfortably as the young Mobian woman, a squirrel**/**chipmunk hybrid, trudged through the forest of Angel Island.

She had looked everywhere for her long-time boyfriend, refusing to believe for even a second what everyone else did, that he was dead. The floating island she was on now was her last hope.

She was halfway up the central mountain when she saw the light. She recognized that light. It was the same light that had taken her hedgehog from her.

It started at the top of the mountain, then began to race directly toward her. She could only stare, frozen, as the light blazed around her.

Princess Sally Acorn's last conscious thought before everything went black was, _Maybe I'll find Sonic._

KrissyKat91: Another short chapter. Urgh.


	2. Hello Earth

Ch. 2: Hello Earth

Sonic sighed. He was currently at the beach, where his friends had hauled him a few days after Angel Island appeared, watching a couple enjoying a romantic walk in the sunset.

_That should've been us,_ he thought morosely. _That should've been me and—_

"Sonic!"

He flinched, then sighed again. "Yes, Amy?"

Amy Rose grinned up at him. "Why don't you come down here with us? The water's so nice and cool right now."

Sonic glanced down at the rock he was on, well out of the water's reach. "No thanks. I'm fine where I am." He looked off, then froze. He'd seen something. Something that almost looked like...

"Hey, Sonic. I think I see chili dogs."

There was no answer.

Amy frowned. Something was wrong. Sonic _never_ ignored the mention of chili dogs.

"Sonic?"

"Quiet, Amy. I thought I saw something." There it was again! His green eyes narrowed. "Excuse me."

With the sonic boom that was his namesake, he took off after the whatever-it-was.

_(KrissyKat91: I don't know what he saw. I just had to give him an excuse to leave.)_

_I hope I got those directions right,_ Sally thought, ringing the doorbell of one of the biggest mansions she'd ever seen.

There was a moment of silence, then the door swung open. A short, portly human woman in a housekeeper's uniform stood before her.

"May I help you?"

Sally gulped. "Er, yes. I'm looking for Sonic Hedgehog. Is this where he's staying?"

"Yes, it is. He and his friends went to the beach with Master Chris, but they should be back soon, if you'd like to wait."

_He's okay! They're all okay! _Aloud, she said, "I'd like that a lot."

The woman smiled, saying, "I'll show you to the living room. If you need anything, just call for Ella."


	3. Beautiful Surprise

Ch. 3: Beautiful Surprise

Sonic skidded to a stop in front of the door. He hadn't been able to find the thing he'd been chasing, so he'd decided to come back to the Thorndyke mansion to wait for the others.

Opening the door as quietly as he could, he glanced around. No Ella.

_So far, so good. Maybe I can get to the roof without getting chewed out for leaving the others,_ he thought.

"SONIC HEDGEHOG!"

_And maybe Eggman will walk through the door and say he's going straight. And on a diet._ "Yes, Ella?"

Ella glowered at him. "Where are Master Chris and the others?"

"Still at the beach."

"You left them there?!"

He shrugged. "Knuckles is with them."

Ella glared at him for a minute, then sighed. "Never mind." She started to walk off, then paused and added, "Oh, someone came by looking for you. She's waiting in the living room."

Sonic raised a brow. _She?_

Sally nervously twisted the edge of her vest. She'd heard Ella yelling at Sonic, which had assured her that nothing bad had happened to him in the time they were apart. So why was she so tense? It wasn't as though they couldn't pick up where they left off.

Footsteps coming down the hall pulled her out of her thoughts, and she looked expectantly at the door.

Sonic stepped into the room, half expecting his and Chris's mutual friend Helen, and froze.

Sally felt her heartbeat quicken. There he was, standing in front of her, opening and closing his mouth and looking just as stunned as she would be, were she in his place.

Sonic stared. Was he really seeing this? Was life really going to be this kind to him?

Finally finding his voice, he breathed, "Am I dreaming you?"

Sally smiled. "No, Sonic. I'm really here." She took two steps forward and was in his arms in an instant.

"I thought I'd never see you again," he whispered. Sally simply tightened her grip. She didn't say anything. She didn't have to.

After clinging to her for a few minutes, Sonic pulled back and said, "Are you gonna stay here? Everyone but Knuckles is."

"If you'll have me, then yes." She smirked. "I may never let you out of my sight again."

Sonic grinned. "Then hang on for the Sonic Express grand tour of Station Square!"

Scooping her up bridal style, he shot out of the room, past a startled (eavesdropping) Ella, and out of the house.


	4. Amy Finds Out

Ch. 4: Amy Finds Out

"We're back!" Chris hollered as he, Amy, Tails, Cream, and Cheese walked in. Knuckles, who wanted to give Sonic a piece of his mind (and his fists) for leaving him to watch out for the others alone, shuffled in after them.

"Welcome back, Master Chris," a tall Oriental in a butler's uniform said, taking their wet things.

Stepping forward, Amy asked, "Do you know where Sonic is, Mr. Tanaka? He kinda ran off earlier."

"Ella told me that a lady friend of his showed up earlier, and he took her on a tour of the city."

There was a moment of silence, then the pink hedgehog shrieked, _"Lady friend?!"_

"Now, Amy," Tails said quickly, "Sonic has other female friends besides you. Odds are she's just someone he ran into one day, like Helen."

"Actually," Mr. Tanaka interjected, "Ella said she looked like a squirrel. Or was it a chipmunk?"

With a furious roar, Amy charged out the door, intent on finding and dealing with the one who dared try and steal _her_ Sonic.

"So, what do you think so far?" Sonic asked as he and Sally walked hand-in-hand down a moonlit path in the park.

"I think it's the most beautiful city I've ever seen," she said, blue eyes sparkling with awe.

Sonic smiled. "Yeah," he agreed, "beautiful." But he wasn't looking at the city.

He started to say something else, something he'd been meaning to say for a long time, then stopped. In the distance, coming right at them, was a large cloud of dust.

Sonic paled. There was only one person he knew of, besides himself, who could kick up such a big cloud. And she couldn't even run as fast as he did.

"Er, Sal? I think we'd better leave. Like now."

Sally frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Amy's coming," he said simply.

Now it was Sally's turn to pale. She knew of the pink hedgehog's obsessive crush on Sonic, _and _her violent temper. The Mobian princess had _no _desire to get flattened by Amy's Piko Piko hammer.

"You're right. Let's go."

Sonic picked her up again, but before he could take off, Amy was in front of them, hammer in hand and looking furious.

"You!" she hissed, glaring daggers at Sally. "You are _not_ taking him from me!"

She swung her hammer, only for Sonic to spin around and use his own body to shield Sally from the blow.

"Sonic!" Sally shouted as, grunting in pain, the cobalt hedgehog fell to his knees, dropping her in the process.

"I'm... okay," he groaned, rubbing the back of his head.

Amy, meanwhile, had gone from angry to nearly in tears. "Oh, Sonic, I'm _sorry!"_ she wailed. "I didn't mean to hit you, honest!"

Sonic waved her off. "It didn't hurt _that _much," he said as Sally helped him up. "It just knocked the wind out of me."

"You're sure?" Amy asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He did a few dance moves to prove it. "See? No harm done."

Sally frowned. "Maybe we ought to go back to the house, just in case."

Sonic stared at her like she'd just suggested they except Eggman as ruler of Mobius. "Come on, Sal. The night's still young, and I still have the rest of the city to show you." When it didn't look like she was going to budge, he added, with the infamous Puppy Eyes look, "Please?"

Sighing, she held up her hands in defeat. "All right, all right, we'll finish the tour."

Sonic grinned. "I love you."

"You'd better."

"_WHAT?!"_

The two lovebirds jumped. They'd forgotten about Amy! The pink hedgehog was staring slack-jawed at them, a look of horror on her face.

"Oh, did I never tell you?" Sonic asked, looking embarrassed. "Amy Rose, meet Sally Alicia Acorn, Princess of Mobius, and," he grinned and winked at Sally, "queen of my heart."

Sally blushed. "Oh, Sonic."

Amy didn't take this so well. _"I almost clobbered the princess?!"_ she screeched. Then her mind processed the last thing he'd said. "What do you mean, 'queen of your heart'?"

"Exactly what it sounds like." He sighed. "I'm sorry, Amy. I _do_ care about you. Just not the way you want me to."

With that, he picked Sally up and darted off, leaving a heartbroken Amy behind them.


	5. Kidnapped!

Ch. 5: Kidnapped!

Things were pretty different around the Thorndyke mansion for the next few days.

Eggman still hadn't attacked, so Sonic spent most of his time either looking for Chaos Emeralds, or spending the day with Sally.

Amy sulked in her room and refused to come out except to eat and use the toilet.

Cream and Cheese stayed with Amy, trying to cheer her up.

Knuckles returned to Angel Island to resume his duties as guardian of the Master Emerald.

Tails and Chuck spent hours in the garage, tinkering with the X-Tornado.

And Chris watched it all with a growing sense of dread. He couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible was about to happen, something that would change their lives forever.

He hoped he was wrong. He really, _really_ hoped he was wrong.

the next day...

"_WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S GONE?!"_ Sonic bellowed, actually making Mr. Tanaka flinch.

"Just what I said. When I went up to inform Princess Sally that breakfast was ready, I found the bed empty, the room a mess, and this on the dresser." He held up a DVD.

Snatching the disc from him, Sonic popped it into the nearest DVD player. The screen crackled for a moment, then Dr. Eggman appeared on screen.

"_Hello, Sonic. By now I'm sure you've missed your little girlfriend. Don't worry. I'm taking good care of her."_

The camera panned to the left, revealing a furious Sally Acorn trapped in an egg shaped glass container, beating her fists on the sides and screaming threats at the madman.

The camera panned back to Eggman. _"I have three of the seven Chaos Emeralds. Surrender the rest, or I'll use her as a test subject for my latest and greatest invention."_

This time the camera panned to the right, showing a large object covered by a sheet. Walking over to it, Eggman pulled the sheet off, revealing an enormous machine.

"_Ta da! Presenting the Roboticizer! It's designed to turn organic creatures into mindless robots, and I've been dying to see if it works."_ He grinned maliciously at the camera._ "You have until noon to bring me the Emeralds, or the princess becomes my personal slave. Tootles!"_

The screen briefly showed the image of a map with a red dot on it, and then went dead.


	6. Super Sonic

KrissyKat91: If you recognize it, I don't own it.

Ch. 6: Super Sonic

There was a long silence, then Amy said, "We're _not_ giving him the Emeralds, right?"

Ignoring the question, Sonic messed with the disc until it showed the map again, then paused it there.

"Where is that?" he asked.

Peering at the screen, Chuck replied, "Looks like the warehouse district. That place has been abandoned for years."

"A prime hideout for Dr. Eggman," Tails commented.

Sonic said nothing. He simply stared at the screen, a blank look on his face.

Noting the azure hedgehog's expression (or lack thereof), Amy asked, "You're _not_ thinking of giving him the Emeralds, are you?"

"...No, I'm not _thinking_ of it," he finally said.

Everyone breathed sighs of relief, then sucked them back in when he added, in a deadly serious tone, "I'm _doing_ it."

And before any of the others even had time to blink, he was gone.

Sonic stepped into the warehouse, four of the seven Chaos Emeralds clutched in his arms.

"Eggman!" he yelled, scanning the empty room. "I have the Emeralds! Let Sally go!"

"_All in good time, Sonic. All in good time,"_ Eggman replied over the speaker system. _"First bring the Emeralds to me."_

"Where are you?"

"_Just follow the blinking lights."_

Sonic frowned, wondering what Eggman was talking about, then noticed a door leading to a hall that had flashing red lights on the walls. Squaring his shoulders, the blue hedgehog started down it.

He'd only gotten a few feet from the entrance when the ground suddenly flew out from under his feet, sending him plummeting into darkness.

After about five minutes of falling, Sonic landed hard on his tail. Wincing, he stood and looked around.

He was now in a laboratory that looked like it had come straight out of a bad horror film. In one corner was a hallway leading upwards. In the other was the machine he recognized as the Roboticizer.

And strapped to a chair in the central glass cylinder was...

"_SALLY!"_ he shouted, darting toward her.

Struggling in her bonds, she yelled, "Sonic, RUN! It's a trap!"

Sonic skidded to a stop, but it was to late. A large metal claw shot out of the wall, snaring Sonic and making him drop the Emeralds.

An evil laugh sounded from the other end of the room, and both Mobians twisted in that direction.

Eggman grinned malevolently from his personal hover pod.

"I must say, I thought you were smart enough to see this as a trap, Sonic," he said, snickering. "I guess I was wrong."

Sonic gave a rather alarming growl. "You won't get away with this, Egg-head!"

"_Au contraire,_ Hedgehog. You and the princess are trapped, and your little friends aren't here to save you. I've won!" The mad doctor cackled at the thought, then stopped when Sonic suddenly grinned.

"Actually, Doc, _I've_ won. I knew this was a trap, but I also knew it was the only way to get all seven Emeralds in one place. You _do_ remember what happened last time, right?"

Sally blinked confusedly, and Eggman turned an interesting mix of snow white and blood red, with a splash of a previously undiscovered shade of green.

"Oh no," he whispered as the seven Chaos Emeralds suddenly pulsed with energy, then floated up to surround the trapped hedgehog.

They began to spin around him, moving faster and faster, and getting brighter and brighter, until they were little more than a multicolored blur.

"NO!" Eggman lunged forward, as if to stop whatever was happening, but it was to late.

There was a blast of golden energy, and the claw holding Sonic captive shattered. When the light faded to a bearable level, Sally and Eggman both gasped.

There, hovering a foot off the ground, was Sonic, but not as he was a mere moment ago.

_This_ Sonic had fur of vivid gold instead of cobalt blue.

_This_ Sonic had eyes of ruby red instead of emerald green.

_This_ Sonic was surrounded by a golden aura that crackled with sheer power.

_This..._ was Super Sonic.

"S-Sonic?!" Sally squawked, staring at him, unable to believe what she was seeing. That _couldn't_ be _her_ hedgehog, could it?

Super Sonic flashed a familiar, cocky smirk, and she realized that yes, he was still her Sonic, just on a whole new level of power.

"End of the line, Eggman!" Super Sonic snapped, turning his attention back to the now quaking human.

"ROBOTS ATTACK!" Eggman screamed, slamming his fist down on a large button on his hover pod. Immediately, hidden doors in the walls opened up, and several large robots lumbered out.

Super Sonic scoffed. "Tch. Please. That's supposed to worry me? Watch this, Sal."

The golden hedgehog aimed his palm at one of the bots. "CHAOS SPEAR!" he shouted. A burst of yellow-orange energy lanced out, striking the bot. The resulting explosion also took out the two bots next to it.

"All right Sonic!" Sally cheered.

Super Sonic grinned. "There's more where that came from!" The powered up hedgehog shot forward, and in a matter of milliseconds, all the robots were destroyed.

"Give up, Eggy?" Super Sonic asked, coming to a stop before the human.

"Not a chance!" Eggman growled. "I _still_ have an ace up my sleeve! _Activate Roboticizer!"_

"Sonic!" Sally shrieked, eyes widening in terror as the machine whirred to life.

Ignoring the fleeing Eggman, Super Sonic darted over to the Roboticizer. Pressing his hands to the side of the devise, he shouted, "CHAOS BLAST!"

Another, larger burst of yellow-orange lashed out, causing the machine to malfunction and shut down.

Gliding over to the central cylinder, Super Sonic effortlessly lifted the glass, undid the straps holding Sally, then moved aside as she leaped from the chair.

Smiling, Super Sonic relaxed his grip on the power of the Chaos Emeralds, transforming back into just plain Sonic and falling to his knees in sudden exhaustion.

"Are you alright?" Sally asked, kneeling beside.

"I'm... good," he gasped. "Going Super... takes a lot... out of me."

Sally opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, the ground beneath them started to shake, and Eggman's evil laughter rang out through the speakers.

"_Well done, Sonic,"_ he cackled. _"By destroying my Roboticizer, you've set off this place's self-destruct program! You and the princess have exactly three minutes to get out of there before the building comes crashing down on your heads, and we both know you're too tired to stand, let alone run. Sayonara, Sonic Hedgehog and Sally Acorn!"_

KrissyKat91: Huzzah! A longer chapter! I don't think going Super actually knocks Sonic for a loop in the games, but in my headcanon it does. I just don't see how a power-up like that can be used without some kind of price being paid. Think of it as a major sugar rush with a monster crash afterwards.


	7. Gone

KrissyKat91: This is another story that's actually been done for a while, which is why it's being updated so fast. Once again, I own nothing.

Ch. 7: Gone

"Sonic, what do we do?!" Sally screamed, latching onto him as the room began to shake in earnest, and the machinery around them began to spit sparks.

In answer, Sonic shoved himself to his feet, legs wobbling slightly.

"Sonic?" the princess asked, eying him worriedly.

The hedgehog clenched his teeth, drew in a deep breath, then scooped Sally up and took off down the hall, though at nowhere near his normal speed.

Sally wanted to ask what on Mobius Sonic thought he was doing, but she could tell it was taking all his concentration just to stay upright, so she kept her mouth shut.

On and on they went, dodging falling concrete and support beams. Just when Sally thought they'd be running upwards forever, the two Mobians suddenly found themselves back in the warehouse above Eggman's lab.

For a moment, just a moment, Sally thought they were home free. Then she saw the wide, jagged crack in the ground between them and the exit.

"Can you make it?" she half asked**/**half screamed.

"I _have_ to!" he replied, tightening his grip on her as he leaped off the ground.

As they sailed over the crack, Sally felt a cold, sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. They weren't going to make it.

Sonic apparently realized the same thing, for he suddenly shifted her to one side and reached out with his free hand, barely managing to grab hold of a length of chain hanging over the edge. The chain dropped a bit, leaving them hanging about four feet below the edge of the sheer wall.

"Now what?" Sally asked, clinging to his arm.

Before Sonic could answer, a familiar voice shouted, "SONIC! PRINCESS SALLY!"

"Knuckles!" Sonic called back. "We're down here!"

There was the sound of running footsteps, and the scarlet echidna appeared.

"You two okay?" he called.

"We've had better days!" Sally replied.

Sonic had an unusually serious look on his face. "Knux, listen! This whole place is coming down at any second! I'm gonna throw Sally up to you! Take her and run!"

"What about you?" Knuckles asked, frowning.

"Don't worry about me! Just get her out of here!"

Nodding slowly, Knuckles bent down and held out his hands.

"Ready Sal?" the cobalt hedgehog asked.

Sally swallowed and nodded.

"On three: one... two... THREE!"

As the last word left his mouth, Sonic swung Sally upwards and into Knuckles waiting arms. Unfortunately, the movement jarred the chain, causing it to drop another two feet.

"Sonic!" Sally and Knuckles shouted.

"I'm fine! Get going!"

"I'll come back for you!" Knuckles promised, then grabbed the protesting princess and bolted.

Sonic tried to climb up the chain, but every time he moved, it dropped a few more inches. Just as he was about to try again, the building gave a sudden shudder, and promptly started to cave in.

_Looks like this is it,_ he thought as he struggled to keep his grip on the chain. An image of the ring hidden in a secret compartment in his shoe popped into his head. _Sorry, Sal. I never got to ask you the question I've been meaning to ask since you came of age._

The ground gave another lurch, the chain slid out of Sonic's grasp, and the cobalt hedgehog found himself plummeting away from the edge of the drop-off.

_I love you, Sally Acorn._

As he fell, his head smacked against something hard, and the world went black.

"Knuckles!" Sally yelled at the echidna as he skidded to a stop a good ways from the collapsing building. "What are you doing?! We have to go back for Sonic!"

"_I'm_ going back for Sonic! _You_ are staying right here! He'll kill me if I let anything happen to you!"

"But I—"

_**CRASH!**_

Both Mobians froze, then spun around, only to watch in helpless horror as the warehouse completely collapsed.

"No," Sally whispered, shaking her head in denial.

"_No."_ A violent shudder ran through her body.

"_**Sonic!"**_ she screamed, lunging forward, only to have what felt like iron bars wrap around her upper body.

"Princess! Stop!" Knuckles shouted, struggling to restrain her. "There's nothing you can do!"

She fought him for a few more seconds, then sagged in defeat.

"Sonic," she whimpered. "He—he was still in there."

"I know," the guardian replied softly, then twitched at the sound of approaching sirens. "Come on. We need to get out of here."

Sally didn't respond, so Knuckles simply picked her up and carried her off.

KrissyKat91: For those of you planning to come after me with torches and pitchforks, he's not dead. I'm bringing him back in the sequel... well, sort of. It's complicated.


	8. Going Home

Ch. 8: Going Home

"The portal's as ready as I can make it," Chuck said softly. "You can go home as soon as you're ready."

Knuckles, who'd moved into the Thorndyke mansion so he could be there if anyone needed him, nodded. "Thanks," he muttered.

"We c-can't leave," Sally said, eyes red from all the crying she'd been doing. "Th-they could still find him."

"Sally," Chuck said as gently as possible, "the President has all available personnel combing the rubble, but it's been two weeks. They'd have found him by now if—if there were anything to find."

Sally's face crumpled, a fresh wave of tears streaming down her cheeks.

Tails reached out and wrapped his arms around her, crying himself.

"I think," Knuckles said slowly, eyes half lidded, "that we need to spend one more night, and leave in the morning. There's no real reason to wait."

_the next day, in the backyard_

Chris frowned as his grandfather warmed up the machine that would take the Mobians home. He'd already lost his best friend. He didn't want to lose the others. Why couldn't they stay?

Shaking his head at his own selfishness, the boy tore his attention away from the devise and looked at his friends.

Sally was sitting on a bench, with Tails on one side and Cream and Cheese on the other, clinging to her. All four had tears falling down their faces.

Knuckles and Amy were on another bench. He had wrapped an arm around her, and she was clinging fiercely to him, making Chris wonder if there might be something developing between the two. Neither were crying, but their eyes had a wet sheen to them.

Finally, with a grunt of effort, Chuck straightened up and wiped his brow.

"Well," he sighed, "it's ready. Give me an Emerald."

As he was the only one who had any real right to them, the Chaos Emeralds (the only things found in the rubble) had been claimed by Knuckles, and he now handed the green one to the human scientist.

Chuck slipped the gem into the slot made for it and powered up the machine.

Immediately, a beam of bright energy shot out of the antenna on the top, arced miles through the sky, and struck a massive green jewel on a certain floating island.

There was a sound like ripping fabric that could be heard for miles, a flash of white light, and Angel Island was transported back to the world it had come from.

"I just had a thought," Chris said as the machine powered down (it had to cool for a few minutes before it could be used again). "What about Eggman? What are we gonna do with him?"

At that, Knuckles got a wicked gleam in his eyes.

"Don't worry," he said. "I took care of it."

_~flashback~_

_Angel Island_

_Knuckles smirked at the squirming ball of lard tied to a tree. Eggman was trussed up like a prize turkey, gagged and looking furious._

"_Don't bother trying to escape, _human,"_ he spat the word as if it were a curse. "Those ropes are saturated in Chaos Energy. They're impossible to break. I'll come back for you when we're back on Mobius, and then I think I'll give you to the princess as a late birthday present."_

_The crimson guardian was pleased to see the fat man pale._

_~end flashback~_

"Somehow," Chris said, "I don't think I want to know."

"No. You don't."

"Okay," Chuck said. "It's ready now. You can go—"

"WAIT!"

Everyone turned around to see Chris's parents, Nelson and Lindsey Thorndyke, his uncle, Sam Speed, Mr. Tanaka, and Ella standing behind them.

"You can't leave without saying goodbye," Lindsey said, her eyes watering. The apparent demise of their hero had hit the residents of Station Square hard.

"Right, sorry," Amy said. "We just— We didn't—" She whimpered, turning and burying her face in Knuckled shoulder, trembling.

"It's alright," Nelson said. "Just don't do it again."

"You won't have to worry about that," Knuckles muttered.

"Are you ready?" Chuck asked.

Everyone except Sally nodded. She just stared at the floor.

"Okay. Here we go."

Chuck fired up the machine, and as it activated, it was immediately evident that something was wrong.

"Um, Chuck?" Tails asked, wide-eyed. "Is the transporter supposed to be glowing like that?"

"No, Tails, it's not."

The transporter suddenly pulsed, and Chuck shouted, "GET DOWN!"

And then it exploded.

If anyone had been in the sky, looking down at the Thorndyke mansion, they would have seen a bright, yellowish-white light engulf the whole expanse of property. When the light faded, all that was left was a large, perfectly round crater.

Just like Angel Island, the Thorndyke mansion and everyone in it were gone.


	9. Epilogue: A New Dawn

Epilogue: A New Dawn

_location unknown, a few weeks later_

It was dark and quiet. The only sounds to be heard were coming from the machines that monitored the vital signs of the chamber's sole occupant.

The sounds sped up as the creature's eyes fluttered open. He sat up, looked around, and frowned.

This place looked sort of like a hospital, but he'd never been here before, had he? He tried to remember, then gasped in pain, digging his fingers into black, red-streaked quills.

Crimson eyes widened. He couldn't remember! He couldn't remember anything! He didn't know where he was, he didn't know where he'd come from, he didn't even know his own name!

Panic began to constrict his chest, but before it could fully take hold, an image rose up in his mind's eye, an image of a female squirrel**/**chipmunk hybrid with neck-length chocolate brown hair pulled into a ponytail, lighter brown fur, and laughing blue eyes. He didn't know who she was, but he latched onto the image, and the calming sensations that came with it.

The lights suddenly came on, revealing the creature to be a black, male hedgehog with crimson stripes on his arms, legs, quills, and around his equally carmine eyes, and a tuft of white fur on his chest. It also startled him enough to make him jump.

"Oh!" a young, female voice said. "You're finally awake!" The girl in the doorway looked to be about twelve or thirteen, with long blond hair and deep sapphire eyes that looked strangely familiar. She looked at him and smiled a smile that could've lit up the darkest sky.

"Hi!" she chirped. "I'm Maria Robotnik!"

"Robotnik?" the black hedgehog repeated. The name was familiar as well, and not in a good way.

Sticking her head into the hall, Maria called, "Grandfather! He's awake!"

The hedgehog blinked, then stiffened at the sight of the man who appeared behind Maria.

He was tall and rotund, with a long gray mustache, a large nose, and a pair of dark, round sunglasses sitting atop said olfactory organ.

A little voice within the dark hedgehog was screaming at him to grab the girl and get as far away from this man as possible, but as he had no logical reason to do so, he ignored it.

"This," Maria said, grinning, "is my grandfather, Professor Gerald Robotnik."

"Hello," the Professor said, "and welcome back to the world of the living, Shadow Hedgehog."

KrissyKat91: Aaaannd... viola! It's done! Check out the sequel, _Shadow the Hedgehog: Dawn_, coming soon to a computer near you!... at least I hope it is. I haven't even finished the first chapter yet.


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